What is a bunion?
A bunion is called Halluz Valgus under medical terms, which is a lumpy and bony abnormality often found at the joint of the big toe. It can cause pain and difficulty in walking.
Who are patients of bunions?
Everyone can be the patient of this painful condition even kids sometimes might experience this. Bunions are a common condition observed among women that is related to the fact that women usually wear high heels which are quite unhealthy for their feet. Those heels might be too narrow and tight for their feet.
Bunions can be caused by genetics. Thus, close relatives might have experienced this more common. Moreover, low arches and flatfoot can be the cause for bunions as well. In case you do several activities which demands high pressure on your feet, such as running, you might develop a bunion too.
Symptoms of Bunions
The most troublesome issue with bunions is that they cause unattraction. You not only experience pain and discomfort, but you also feel the swelling at the joint of the big toe, which is named metatarsophalangeal joint.
Discomfort symptoms of bunions usually develop gradually. Therefore, you might realize that your big toe is slightly bent towards other toes on your feet. Moreover, the joint will be a little bit reddish or the skin is irritated. And the joint will be painful and stiff.
The pain caused by bunions might not be so severe but it will be continuous. If you suddenly feel pain and the pain is stiff, you might suffer from gout, which is often mistaken with bunions.
Home remedies for bunions
Even though it is not easy to eliminate bunions, there are several ways that you can try before a surgical operation.
Proper Footwear
If your bunions are small and it doesn’t cause you so much trouble, you might just need to change your shoes. Wrong footwear is one of the most common reason why people suffer from bunions. Whenever you wearpoorly fitted shoes, you have cause troubles for your synovial fluid and flow of bloodwhich can lead to bunions.
People especially women tend to buy shoes as the key factor is whether they look attractive to us. Thus, we usually choose too tight or too narrow shoes. In case you can’t find shoes that fit your feet, you can always get them created by a shoemaker.
Foot Exercises
This might successfully prevent bunions or when they have already happened, exercises might be helpful in prevent their further development. Before going to bed or after taking off your shoes, try to do some simple exercises. It might take you a while, however, your feet will be relieved.
The simplest exercise is to stretch your big toe. You can do use your fingers to do this exercise. Point those toes straight ahead, wait for about 10 seconds, curl them under and let them in that position for another 10 seconds. Repeat the process for several times.
Another simple exercise is to press your toes against the wall or any other flat surface till the point they are bent back. Sit still in this position for about 10 seconds and relax. Repeat the process for a few times. If you do it more regularly, your toes will be more flexible.
Gripping objects with your toes is another good idea. Just pick up some small and light things using your toes. It can be a small soft ball, your slipper and a cloth. Use your toes to pick it up and drop it several times on a daily basis.
No Shoes at All
In fact, humans are not created to use shoes. When wearing them, our feet are squeezed in those tight shoes and the soles of those shoes are usually soft which weaken our muscles.
You should walk barefoot whenever you have time. Because when you do it, your feet are in natural and the muscle will be trained to get stronger. Walking barefoot is very useful for everyone not only those who have suffered from bunions. Therefore, if you usually wear high heels or you are genetically suffered from bunions, walking barefoot is the most effective method to prevent this condition.
Unfortunately, if you find that your condition is painful and worse, walking barefoot is not a good idea because you can drive your condition worse. You might choose to walk on the carpet.
A Warm Bath
Bunions usually develop as a result of poor blood circulation and feet tiredness. Warm water can enhance the flow of blood, thus, it is a brilliant idea to have a warm bath for your teeth.
You will need a large bowl filled with lukewarm water but don’t fill it with too hot water. Put your feet inside the bowl for about 20 minutes. You can improve the effectiveness of the method if you add in some essential oils. A warm bath would quickly reduce the swelling and pain and you will feel much better.
A Cold Compress
Bunions can cause swelling which is very troublesome because you might have difficulties with wearing your shoes. A cold compress can be made by wrapping several ice cubes by a clean cloth which can therefore, reduce swelling and bring immediate relief.
After wrapping ice cubes in clean cloth, you can put it on the bunions for several minutes. You can adopt this method when your bunions cause swelling and pain.
Essential Oils
Castor oil and olive oil will be really helpful of treating bunions. You will enhance the blood circulation when you using these essential oil to give your toe a massage at least twice a day. Do this regularly, you should see that bunion will get smaller after several weeks.
Thanks to its anti – inflammatory properties, castor oil can be used to bring relief from pain. All you need to do is to warm up castor oil and add in several drops on a clean and soft cloth.
Put the cloth on your bunion and use a towel and blanket to cover so that it can keeps the warm. Let it be for several minutes and the pain will be relieved quickly.
